Should I upgrade it?

A month ago I was shopping for a Rudge crank and ended up with a Rudge Deluxe that had been made into a single speed. Basically the old Rudge frame, crank and pedals are all that are left original. The hubs and rims have been replaced with an old Schwinn road bike's (narrow) wheels, the tires are road bike tires. It's still got the old Schwinn's six speed freewheel, set as a single speed as there is no derailleur (it's permanently set on the 3rd gear). Seat is a comfortable little road seat. Brakes and levers are modernish Campinollas (which work like brand new). The handlebar is the old Rudge, flipped. The problem is other than its goofyness this bike is pretty comfortable. The frame fits me like a dream and the skinny tires make a world of difference. Now I'm considering buying a 5 or 7 gear internal hub, keeping the rims, flipping the handlebars back, and riding it. I have some Raleigh fenders that could be repainted and logo'd with Rudge, and the bike would essentially be a modernized Rudge. So my question is...given that I'll probably end up putting $200 - 250 into the bike for the new hub, new spokes (and probably new rims by the time I get done) am I nuts? Does anyone ever upgrade these bikes, or is the value totally in the vintage value?

Bikes: 1949 'Italian' , 1950 San Giusto, 1897 Union, and a number of "projects"... 198? Grandis, a couple of Mixte's...

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Campi-what's ? Do you mean Campagnolo ? Ok, with that out of the way...no, I don't think you are crazy. If you like the bike and the fit feels that good, upgrade to your heart (or wallets) content is my opinion. It's not always easy to find a bike that fits like a dream, so I say hang on to it and enjoy it !

A Rudge only has so much value, and yours is not a pristine, totally original bike, so don't worry about that....and yes, also that these bikes get upgraded and personalized all the time.

I seem to recall the Rudge as the poor man's Raleigh. If your dad didn't want to spend the big $$ on a Raleigh, he got you an assemble it yourself Rudge. I had one and the brakes were for s**t.

I have no idea what your local market pricing is like, but if you read the threads here, there are some more than amazing finds that would be better investment of your cash. In most cases, bike owners will invest more than the fair market value of the bike if there is sentimental attachment to it, want a specific vintage look, or just have too much cash to burn.

Hobbyists and enthusiasts on this forum know that finding donor bikes where the parts are good, but the frame or wheels are shot, can be a low cost way to ugrade another frame.